Yas Marina changing track layout to aid overtaking at F1 season finale

48 comments on “Yas Marina changing track layout to aid overtaking at F1 season finale”

1. 

   BasCB (@bascb)
   21st June 2021, 12:58

   I think I remember these were exactly the kind of things discussed in an article here (and the comments below it) a few years back, about what could be done at this track without having to do immense work (because of the grandstands, the hotel position and runoff areas).

   Let’s hope we can get an Abu Dhabi race that is at least not worse than a “birdie” compared to the rest of the racing this year.
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      21st June 2021, 13:53

      @bascb Deleting the chicane is an obvious improvement. Frankly it’s baffling they built it in the first place.

      The other change is more ambitious and I’m impressed they’ve gone for it. It’ll be a much more interesting corner than watch them plodding through those tedious angular bends.
      1. 

         black (@black)
         21st June 2021, 14:23

         @keithcollantine

         Frankly it’s baffling they built it in the first place.

         I think it was because they wanted the Turn 7 grandstand to be as close to the track as possible and by not having the chicane at Turns 5-6, the Turn 7 hairpin (if it stayed as it is) would have almost no run off area after a long flat-out stretch.

         Turns out after 12 unsuccessful races, they thought “maybe let’s prioritise the track layout for once…”
   2. 

      wsrgo (@wsrgo)
      21st June 2021, 17:15

      @bascb I really hope so. Won’t be watching the KSA race, so would really like Abu Dhabi to give us a banger! Yes, 2012 was good, but it was also, you know, 2012. If the championship goes down to the wire it’ll add extra spice to it.
2. 

   MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
   21st June 2021, 13:04

   Hmm i mean i see the track being more fun as especially the second of the altered chicanes Was pretty clumsy imho but aid overtaking? not so sure tbh. didnt they essentially ‘Ease’ two of the hardest braking points and follow them up with slightly faster and therefore potentially more aero-dependent corners…?
   1. 

      AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
      21st June 2021, 13:40

      @mrboerns I think the problem with current turn 6 is that it starts the straight from very low speeds, so the car ahead is initially pulling away a lot. Having a medium-speed corner ahead of the straight would resolve that, even if it is more aero-dependent (is my expectation), although I’m not sure the proposed corner has the best shape for it. We will find out, I suppose.
      The second change I’m not so sure about, because removing the big braking zones might indeed take away one overtaking opportunity.
      1. 

         MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
         21st June 2021, 17:37

         @adrianmorse i’m not saying you’re wrong, i’m just saying that to me this sounds an awful lot like the exact opposite of what we are told each year about Barcelona
3. 

   hahostolze (@hahostolze)
   21st June 2021, 13:05

   The ‘banked’ corner (probably just a bit on-camber) would be good, expect that it does come at the end of a long straight. Will that actually enhance overtaking?

   The other change would be good.
   Lap will be quite a bit quicker now you’d imagine.
   1. 

      Bram (@br444m)
      21st June 2021, 14:23

      With the banking, I assume the aim is that 2 cars can take it side by side. Effectively, it would extend the straight. And with the DRS zone preceding it, it would slingshot the cars through there. I’m sure Pirelli will love this too ;) Could be quite spectacular if it works out.

      The idea looks similar to what they want to achieve in Zandvoort (although I fear the longer straight will still be too short there).
      1. 

         Cristian Ingles (@doctorlovesexy)
         21st June 2021, 15:14

         They are trying to recreate Turn 1 (San Donato) in Mugello or in Zandvoort (Tarzan) and last year we saw that banked/camber corners allow different racelines and wheel to wheel fights.
      2. 

         Gabriel (@gabf1)
         21st June 2021, 18:42

         @br444m the banked corner idea reminds me a bit of turn 1 at Mugello. That’s a slingshot bend that follows a long straight. Worked v well for overtaking and looked good too.

         @keithcollantine do you agree?
4. 

   Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
   21st June 2021, 13:08

   F1 is undergoing some significant circuit changes like the ones happened in 2002 and mostly in 2003. Abu Dhabi is one of the main circuits needing a fresh look, as it has struggled to provide any sort of solid racing. The proposed changes look ok, i like the change at turn 7 but I’m not fully convinced on the turn 11-14 reprofile
5. 

   nmgn (@nmgn)
   21st June 2021, 13:14

   It’s not the circuit’s fault there’s no overtaking. It’s the cars/regulations/dirty air.
   1. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      21st June 2021, 13:23

      In this case the track actually has a lot to do with it too @nmgn
      1. 

         nmgn (@nmgn)
         21st June 2021, 13:33

         @bascb No, don’t think so. I’m pretty confident there will be lots of overtaking if you put Formule E cars on track for instance. Compare Monaco’s FE with F1’s race and there’s your proof. Lots of action/overtaking vs none. Could be same for F1 from next year onwards though, lets hope.
         1. 

            BasCB (@bascb)
            21st June 2021, 14:06

            That is not proof at all that the track is fine as is @nmgn, just that both the cars AND the track are an issue.

            Given the fact this track was purposely designed for F1 cars which at the time of building had pretty close to the same levels of downforce as they have now already (and no DRS!), it clearly is not doing what it was supposed to do: give an audience a memorable race on track.

            That series like FE or say karts. Or rallye cars, sportscars etc can race each other better on a track simply doesn’t make it a good track.
            1. 

               nmgn (@nmgn)
               21st June 2021, 15:24

               @bascb We agree to disagree then, I say change the cars, you say change the tracks. Luckily both will be changed (for the better hopefully).
            2. 

               Jere (@jerejj)
               21st June 2021, 15:39

               @bascb The late-2000s cars have considerably less DF than 2017-present ones.
               @nmgn In Monaco’s case, solely about the track, but elsewhere, mostly down to aero.
            3. 

               BasCB (@bascb)
               21st June 2021, 16:30

               That is nonsense @nmgn. Off course we ALSO need to change the cars, what is coming next year is hopefully a step in the right direction.
6. 

   David
   21st June 2021, 13:16

   The “Turn 4” change should create a minor overtaking spot and increase speeds in a corner that is really too slow for the cars.

   The “Turn 11” change I’m not so sure on. I don’t think the corner will be better for overtaking, but one effect of the slow chicane there is that passing someone back immediately is quite common, a simpler corner will remove that chance.

   Look forward to finding out later this year.
   1. 

      Matthijs (@matthijs)
      21st June 2021, 14:19

      The old turns 4, 5 and 6 made it practically impossible to follow each other closely, so I am massively in favour of the new layout. I feel that this might improve overtaking dramatically to the point that a shorter DRS-zone is preferred.

      The turn 11 will not improve overtaking I think, because the braking zone is shorter. I do feel that the new corner will have a much better flow, especially because it is slightly banked rather than the off camber that it is now. It will improve close racing towards corner 15, but I don’t think that that corner will become a regular overtaking spot.
7. 

   jlb
   21st June 2021, 13:16

   I don’t understand the change of turn 11, which was one of the clearest overtaking points. Replacing it with a very wide-angled turn doesn’t convince me. Let’s see if the banking helps in it.
8. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   21st June 2021, 13:19

   The proposed changes would indeed reduce lap times, but the impact on overtaking is another matter.
   1. 

      RandomMallard (@)
      21st June 2021, 13:27

      @jerejj I don’t think there can be a negative impact on overtaking tbh
   2. 

      Will Wood (@willwood)
      21st June 2021, 13:48

      One benefit of reduced laptimes is that, should these changes fail to encourage overtaking, at least the races will be over sooner.
      1. 

         Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
         21st June 2021, 15:58

         Lol
         1. 

            Robert
            19th July 2021, 12:51

            Never change a circuit during a season for what ever reason
9. 

   Romulo
   21st June 2021, 13:37

   On the Abu Dhabi Circuit website they already have a simulation of the circuit with these changes: https://static.myconnect.ae/-/media/yasconnect/project/ymc/f1-2020-assets/3d-maps/2021-maps-en/f1-3d-maps-en-d-hero.jpg
10. 

    Mashiat (@mashiat)
    21st June 2021, 13:52

    The remodelled corner after the second back straight kinda reminds me of turn 1 in Mugello, especially if it is banked. Might not be the worst thing in the world, as we saw in Mugello with there being multiple lines through the corner and plenty of overtaking around the outside. I fully support the decision to remove turns 4, 5 and 6 with a single, faster corner. The issue previously was that the hairpin leading onto the straight was so slow that it took till halfway down the straight for the driver behind to even catch up to the same speed as the driver ahead. All in all, this should make Abu Dhabi a better circuit. Not great, but better.
11. 

    Alex (@arobbo)
    21st June 2021, 14:20

    It’s great that they’re at least attempting to change the layout to aid overtaking, I personally like the turn 4 change, but for turn 11? I’m not sure, that section is one of the better places to overtake originally and sort of reminds me of the change they made to Catalunya which didn’t make a huge difference in aiding overtaking.

    I hope to be wrong though when we see the race there later this year.
12. 

    Ciaran (@ciaran)
    21st June 2021, 14:53

    The changes look encouraging and show they’re willing to make improvements, although I’m astounded it took them this long.
    What I like is the ambition of the changes – reconfiguring the first chicane is a sensible one that many have flagged, but the new banked corner is a bold choice. Definitely better than what I expected!
13. 

    Cristian Ingles (@doctorlovesexy)
    21st June 2021, 14:55

    Looks like someone stole my idea (I want my royalties or a Paddock Club Pass)…… I even mentioned that they should make a cambered corner a la San Donato or Tarzan after the second straight.

    Link
14. 

    davidhunter13 (@davidhunter13)
    21st June 2021, 15:05

    Nice! These new tracks and their obsession sometimes with endless right angle corners really does frustrate. So fidgety and achieve nothing. So this is a great set of changes! Can they do something similar to Singapore somehow 😂??
    1. 

       Jere (@jerejj)
       21st June 2021, 15:42

       @davidhunter13 Impossible. Street circuits are pretty inflexible as surrounding buildings and other features around existing regular roads dictate pretty much everything in track design.
       1. 

          Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
          22nd June 2021, 9:21

          The emoji implied that he very much knew this and was joking
15. 

    Sumedh
    21st June 2021, 15:20

    Happy to see this attempted. The banked turn will actually have far more reaching consequences beyond that turn. Because, by eliminating a string of low speed corners, cars will actually be setup differently with lower focus on mechanical and low speed corners. What this would mean is that top speeds could be slightly more. Overtaking may improve at the current turn 7-8. The new banked corner will also be faster and even more challenging. Also, overtaking moves may complete at the entrance to the hotel section making cars go side by side through the banked turn and the following fast right hander turns. Encouraging changes. 10 years too late. But better late than never.
16. 

    Bitten&Hisses (@al-perry)
    21st June 2021, 15:37

    It only took them 11 years to aid overtaking
17. 

    zomtec (@zomtec)
    21st June 2021, 15:57

    Curious how they will design new T11 (or whatever you wanna call it now) as in the sketch it joins the short straight right next to the marina, so there is no run-off at all. So the little green line on the map can mean anything atm.
18. 

    Scalextric (@scalextric)
    21st June 2021, 17:05

    I hope turn 4 is wide on the entrance to encourage different lines. I think that will be needed to enable close following on to the subsequent straight. The location of the DRS line will also need to be before turn 4. Apologies for mentioning DRS.
19. 

    Cristian Ingles (@doctorlovesexy)
    21st June 2021, 17:32

    thank you :)
20. 

    Dave
    21st June 2021, 19:45

    About time they change it.
    1. 

       Dave
       21st June 2021, 19:46

       But on the other side we probably won’t see the new change in the video game.
21. 

    mfreire
    22nd June 2021, 0:40

    These changes are good. But I would make Turn 4 a constant radius to make it even faster.
    1. 

       ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
       22nd June 2021, 9:24

       Idea is to encourage multiple lines!
22. 

    Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
    22nd June 2021, 1:31

    The only really needed to change 1 part, the track.
23. 

    regs (@regs)
    22nd June 2021, 2:14

    Make 15 and 16 narrower and slower, so it will be possible to change trajectory between 16 and 17. And make whole 3rd section very narrow. Baku between corners 1 and 2 is very reach on overtaking.
24. 

    Ipsom
    22nd June 2021, 7:53

    Very optimistic about these changes , the stop and go nature of the deleted areas spaced the cars out
25. 

    AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
    22nd June 2021, 8:52

    Now if only they could get rid of the hotel section and connect turn 15-16 to 20. It’d become a Monza-esque layout with some fun overtaking spots.

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